Atsumi & Sakai has recruited Christopher Marc Hodgens, a registered foreign lawyer for the state of New South Wales and Australian federal law, as a partner.
The firm told Asia Business Law Journal: “Chris has extensive experience in advising and supporting clients with hotel and branded residence projects, and other cross-border corporate and commercial transactions in Japan. [He] will collaborate with attorneys in the firm’s real estate and cross-border M&A practice teams to contribute to and further enhance the firm’s offerings in these spaces.”
Hodgens brings more than 30 years of legal experience, particularly in hotel management agreements and M&A, bolstering the firm’s real estate and hospitality capabilities.
He spent the past 25 years with Baker & McKenzie in Tokyo, assisting global and domestic clients in acquiring, divesting and managing assets across various sectors, particularly hotels and real estate. He acted as lead counsel to InterContinental Hotels Group in its acquisition of a majority stake in a joint venture with All Nippon Airways (ANA), co-branding ANA’s portfolio of 13 owned and leased hotels. Hodgens also assisted in advising APG Asset Management on the acquisition of a 20% stake in the data centre platform OneAsia.
Atsumi & Sakai, a Tokyo-based firm, operates as a foreign law joint venture, enabling the admission of foreign lawyers as partners. The firm has more than 200 lawyers, including 23 foreign partners and associates.
